


Thicker Than Water

by YumeArashi



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Iron Man 3 - Fandom, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Post-Movie, Spoilers, Unconventional Families, bot!feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-12
Updated: 2013-05-12
Packaged: 2017-12-11 15:07:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/800085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YumeArashi/pseuds/YumeArashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of the films, there’s one last thing Tony needs to take care of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thicker Than Water

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scifigrl47](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scifigrl47/gifts).



> ...because bot!feels.
> 
> *****Here be MASSIVE spoilers for Iron Man 3, right through the full film. If you haven't seen it, you'll want to hit your back button right about now.*****

When Pepper wakes in the middle of the night and Tony isn't there again, frustration and worry mixes with the sick feeling that things aren't better after all.  She'd hoped, really hoped, after Clean Slate….Tony knew himself too well to make promises often, but when he did, he kept them.

She stalks down to Stark Tower's labs, and when the door slides open it's on her lips to ask what _this_ suit does. 

But it's not a suit at all.

Tony's kneeling on the floor among the mangled remains of Dummy and You, talking as he works.  Quiet words of regret, apologies that he hadn't been able to save them – they're words he can only voice in solitude.

She closes the door before he notices her and goes back to bed, remembering a fireplace with two small stockings hanging besides Tony's and her own.

**

"Excuse me, Miss Potts," JARVIS interrupts her reading a few days later, "I believe that you will want to be in the lab momentarily."

"Thank you, JARVIS," she sighs and heads for the elevator.  Tony hasn't eaten or slept since the wreckage of the bots came in, and she wonders if he's about to pass out on the floor.

He looks ragged enough when the door opens, all stubble and dark circles and gaunt cheeks.  But he has eyes only for the two rebuilt bots, his fingers flying over the last few connections, his voice almost pleading.  "Come on, come on, this should…."

They come to life with a surprised whirr and take in their surroundings for a moment before turning to their creator with unmistakably questioning attitudes.

And Tony, Tony is laughing and patting them and insulting them in the worst kind of way, the words in complete contrast with the joyous affection in his eyes. 

Pepper leans back with a smile to watch, and if Tony's voice is choked up as he scolds, she doesn’t mention it.

**

Pepper shakes her head as the pair of robots chase one another across the workshop.  They know, somehow, that Tony can't stay mad at them for long, and they innocently take shameless advantage of it.  Oh, Tony will grumble and make a token attempt at enforcing the rules, but in the end they get away with everything.  It's become Pepper's job to reprimand them, and she does it with every bit of fondness that Tony ever did.

Until they start flying.  That's a bit much, even for her.

Tony looks sheepish when she brings him over to see the damage, promising to replace it all and teach the 'bots better manners.  Or try to, at least.  When she asks _why_ he would make his industrial helper robots fly, he simply grins and says that since he was rebuilding them almost from the ground up that it only makes sense to upgrade them, and c'mon, isn't it hilarious to see them zooming around?

She pretends to be annoyed, but she can't stay mad at him any more than he can stay mad at them, so she simply asks JARVIS to work out a flight-training program.

It isn't until later that she realizes the kind of enhanced mobility Tony's added might have given Dummy and You a chance to escape, back in Malibu.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like this, I highly recommend scifigirl47's IM3 bot-fix-it fic "Far Better Things": http://archiveofourown.org/works/783448 ...and her other work, for that matter. She is the *queen* of bot!feels ^o^


End file.
